media update’s Adam Wakefield spoke to Palesa Madumo, executive director of strategy at Vuma Reputation Management, about why reputation management is important for business organisations and how it affects scenario planning.

How important is it for a business to assess their own reputation?

An internal reputation audit of the business organisation should be conducted at least once annually. This will make the organisation aware of public perceptions and put it in a position to self-evaluate and, therefore, identify areas of improvement.

The results should be shared with management and leadership accordingly. Thereafter, strategies and action plans to boost policies and procedures should be cascaded to every level of the organisation to ensure that the entire workforce, and any relevant external stakeholders, are aware. 

How has the concept of reputation in communications changed over the last decade?

We have seen major changes in reputation management, and much of this can be attributed to technological advancements.

The emergence of digital and social media platforms and new forms of communication means an increased use of innovative reputation and crisis management tools.

If the reputation mishaps by local and global organisations in just the last year are anything to go by, it is evident that reputation management strategies should be an integral part of any organisation’s overall strategy – with a particular focus on online reputation management for the entire organisation.

Due to the rapid changes in the digital world, as well as the ease of access to information available to users, reputation management strategy implementation has also had to become flexible.

Matters are often time sensitive, so the empowerment of middle management has to be a key focus – the days of waiting for 'exco to approve' are behind us.  

How important is scenario planning when preparing for a crisis communication situation?

Scenario planning is one of the most critical elements in maintaining an organisation’s reputation, and in managing a crisis. It is unique to each organisation, so it can’t be a cut and paste.

In most cases, organisations know what their pain points are, both internally and externally, and this often means that preventative measures can be taken.

It is important to take each and every possible scenario into consideration and put plans in place to deal with each. Having a crisis team in place, and ensuring they are fully aware and trained in every scenario, is extremely important.

South African businesses have had their fair share of crises in the past year. This shows that much more needs to be done to prepare for such situations.

A simple checklist can be developed to assess preparedness for a crisis. Just as a start, ask yourself if your organisation has the following in place: 
  • a crisis team
  • an appointed spokesperson who is media trained
  • key messages
  • an approach and implementation plan, and
  • a targeted media list.

For more information, visit www.vumareputation.com.   

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